Out to Eat with Kids

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About

Jennifer Bilbro
Founder and CEO
Out to Eat With Kids

What do you get when you cross a graduate of The Citadel and former high school science teacher with a mother who is driven to find healthy meal choices that are also cost efficient for her two children? You get Out to Eat With Kids founder and CEO, Jennifer Bilbro.

As an educator of Biology, Anatomy/Physiology, and Personal Health, the importance of eating healthy is in Bilbro’s blood. But, after the birth of her son in 2002, followed up with the birth of her daughter in 2004, this now stay-at-home mom was in the throes of motherhood, with endless frustration with not being able to find a reliable, up-to-date resource for stand-alone kids' specials at restaurants. Constantly ordering $10 children’s meals only to watch her kids take two bites then throw the food on the ground, and at her wits end by only being able to choose from chicken fingers, grilled cheese and French fries, Bilbro knew there had to options other than wasting money on uneaten meals, feeding her kids unhealthy meals or simply never going out for family dinners again.

Like most moms in America, Bilbro had a core group of moms who collaborated on everything together, from lunches to play dates to birthday parties to music groups. As a stay-at-home-mom, she needed that social, adult-time outlet, and eating, of course, was something all their kids had to do. At the end of each meal, Bilbro became increasingly aggravated at the thought that moms everywhere were being taken advantage of with the lack of options for their children and she didn’t want to sit back and take it anymore. By 2005, she had a note pad in her kitchen and started jotting down restaurants in her area that offered kids specials that not only helped save money, but offered healthy options as well, making her family dining experience much more pleasurable.

Bilbro quickly became the go-to source for her group of moms looking to have the same pleasurable experience when dining out with their own families. And, it dawned on her – she should take all the information she’s jotted down throughout the years and put it in one, convenient place where moms could access the information. In July 2010, Bilbro launched Out to Eat With Kids locally in South Carolina and expanded nationally in 2012. The site currently includes more than 15,000 participating restaurants, many of which now feature healthy choices for children. This science teacher turned Mompreneur has brought her family dining expertise nationwide by partnering with restaurants across the country and offering any easy-to-use online search option for parents to quickly plug in their zip code to find kids specials in their area.

In February 2012, Bilbro expanded the offerings on Out to Eat With Kids by promoting the National Restaurant Association’s Kids LiveWell program and featuring restaurants that participate in the program and offer healthy menu items for children. Mobile applications for the iPhone & Android were released in December 2011, which now give parents easier access to finding healthy and economical restaurant options while on the go.

In addition to her expertise in economic and healthy dining out options for families, Jennifer also offers consultation services for restaurants to help optimize their strategy to better serve families and kids. This entails assessment and consultation on the overall dining experience for families, menu options, kid-friendly specials, marketing to families and more. Her review can be as broad as menu or environmental assessments or as specific as getting data to a point where it tells a restaurant exactly when to offer a special and what options to offer. In addition, Jennifer is able to help better connect restaurants and their target markets through the strategic implementation and use of social media.